Homo ludens electronicus

My interest in electronics started when I was 12 years old, although I
had built electric devices (lighting systems, flashlights, solenoids, even
a motor) much earlier. At age 12 I started the real thing: Radios, sound
effect generators, light games, etc. This obsession of building things
led to a career in electronics, but also it has become my most interesting
hobby. I regularly design and build things, and now I will share my better
documented projects with you.

Each of the following links leads to a page giving constructional information
(schematics, sometimes printed circuit layouts, and text) for an electronic
project. You are welcome to use this information for educational purposes
and for your own use, but please be honest enough not to make business
with them. Any kind of commercial use must first be authorized.

Power supply and switching technology

13.8 Volt, 20 Ampere linear power supply:
A semi-traditional power supply for communication equipment, using negative-rail
regulation with grounded pass transistors in a configuration that gives
some unique advantages.

13.8 Volt, 40 Ampere switching power supply:
A heavy duty, highly efficient, small and lightweight power supply specially
designed for use with communication equipment. This article was originally
published in the QST magazine. Includes text, schematic diagram, printed
circuit board layout, and some photos.

High power LED flashlight: Using a Cree LED, homemade lens, rechargeable batteries, two regulated power levels, and electronic switching.

Solar panel regulator: A simple
but good linear shunt voltage regulator for solar panels, that includes
deep-discharge protection. This design is for 12V systems with panels delivering
up to 7A, but it can be easily scaled for other sizes. I have built several
of these regulators.

Another solar panel regulator: This
is a switching shunt regulator which is very simple and reliable, but does
not regulate as smoothly as the one above and has no deep-discharge protection.
It was built for a yacht.

Amateur Radio

40 meter SSB QRP transceiver: In 1987 I built
this radio. It has been published in a national ham radio magazine, and
now finally found its way into the web!

SWR meter for 1 to 1300 MHz: A very simple
design, cheap to built, does not require adjustment and works well! Depending
on specific components and construction technique used, the upper frequency
limit will be somewhere between 150MHz and 5GHz!

An automatically tuned HF mobile
antenna: This elegant design covers the complete spectrum from
7 to 30 MHz at less than 1.3:1 SWR, is compact, very weatherproof, robust
and has good performance. This article was first published in the QEX /
Communication Quarterly magazine. The article comes in five pages, with
lots of photos, mechanical drawings, schematic diagram, PCB layout and
software listing. Exact duplication is not for the faint of heart, but
some of you may find individual parts and ideas useful for your own projects!

144MHz to 50MHz receive converter:
A simple accessory for a satellite station, that allows using a 6 meter
capable radio in conjunction with a typical S-band to 2 meter converter.